Spinner for cleaning tanks



Sept. 27, 1960 J. L. GIRARD 2,954,038

SPINNER FOR CLEANING TANKS Filed May 28, 1958 Pe i [73.2.

INVENTOR. JACK L. GIRARD ATTORNEY United States Patent SPINNER FOR CLEANING TANKS Jack L. Girard, 109 Baltimore Blvd., Sea Girt, NJ.

Filed May 28, 1958, Ser. No. 738,357

Claims. (Cl. 134-167) This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for cleaning tanks, tank trucks and the like and is directed more particularly to an improved spinner which, when connected to a source of cleaning fluid under pressure, cleans a much greater area of the interior of such tanks than has been heretofore possible.

One object of the invention is the provision, in a spinner, of a plurality of discharge jets disposed at different angles so that the liquid streams overlap and cover a wide cleaning zone in a tank being cleaned.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a spinner having a plurality of discharge openings disposed thereon, some on one side of the axis and others on the other side of said axis, and the angularity being such that sufficient overlapping is provided to effect maximum cleaning.

Yet another object of the invention is the provision, in a spinner, of a main thrust bearing on the lower end of a main shaft in said spinner for minimizing the friction load thereon and thereby adding to the reliability of said spinner.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a spinner of the character described which is comparatively small in diameter and adapted to be inserted into a tank through a comparatively small nipple in the wall thereof. The tanks to be cleaned are tanks for the delivery of fuel oils, etc. and such tanks are of the type known as tank trailer, and they are moved from place to place by trailers.

Heretofore it has been customary to put a man or men into a tank trailer through a man-hole in the wall of the tank. This has been dangerous on account of what the tank trailer had previously contained. Fumes in the tank trailer made it dangerous for the men to work inside the tank trailer. The ten angular jets have been devised to spray the cleaning fluid on all the interior upper portions of the tank relying on the normal Washing down of the liquid down the sides of the tank Walls, to clean the lower half and the bottom; construction of the boss or other non-sparking material to handle flammable or explosive liquids remaining in said tanks to be cleaned.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art, upon a study of this specification and the accompanying drawings.

Referring to the drawings which are given by way of example to illustrate the invention.

Figure 1 is an elevation, partly in section of a preferred form of spinner embodying the invention;

Figure 2 is a plan view taken along the line 22 of Figure l; 3 1 w Figure 3 is a fragmentary view, partly in section, of a modification of the spinner of Figure 1, showing another thrust bearing improvement; and

Figure 4 is a diagrammatic representation of a tank arranged to utilize the improved spinner.

Referring first to Figures 1 and 2, a spinner generally designated by the numeral 10, has a conduit portion to Patented Sept. 27, 1960 be mounted in a tank to be cleaned, as will be explained hereinafter.

The conduit 9 has ahead portion 23 which'is larger in diameter than that of the conduit 9. The lower end of the head 23 is reduced in diameter to form an annular shoulder 38, and extending from the shoulder downwardly is a plain bearing portion 39.

Within the head 23 is a central boss 24 which has a threaded hole therein to accommodate thethreaded upper end of a shaft 25. On either side of the boss 24 are ribs 26 which support the boss 24 centrally of the conduit 9 and provide wide passages 27 therebetween for fluids to transverse the device. 5 p I A spinner body 12 has a hollow interior 11 and has, preferably formed integral therewith, a series of protrusions or bosses 13, 1'4, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21 and 22, and formed in said bosses are jet orifices, which will be presently described. r

The spinner body 12 has a bearing boss 28 centrally supported therein by radial ribs 29, and the boss 28 has a suitable bearing bushing 28a and therein, which is journaled on the shaft 25 and maintains an interior bore of the body 12 concentric with the plain bearing portion 39 described above.

The spinner body .12 has bottom wall 8 which has a central hole 30 formed therein that forms a working fit on the shaft 25. A counterbored depression 40 extends into said bottom wall from the lower end and the outside face thereof. A stepped disc 31 has a portion 31a of smaller diameter which fits tightly in the depression 40. The disc 31 may be formed of a composition such as artificial rubber, or of a high heat thermoplastic, such as trifluorochloroethylene known as Kel F or polytetrafluoroethyl-ene sold under the name of Teflon, both of which have among other excellent characteristics, the quality of having a low co eflicient of friction.

A second composition disc 32 has a 'hole therein which forms a working fit on the shaft and has its upper surface in contact with the lower face of the disc. The disc 32 may be formed 'of a plastic or composition having characteristics similar to those of the disc 31.

A metallic disc or washer 33, may be formed of brass, for example, is in contact with the lower face of the disc 32 and is, in turn, contacted by a thrust bearing 34; A washer 35 on the shaft 25, is in contact with the lower face of the thrust bearing 34 and abuts a nut 36 thatengages threads 2501 on the lower end of the shaft 25 and a set screw 37, threaded radially into the nut 36 is provided for locking the nut in an adjusted position.

By means of the nut 36, any end play in the spinner or the bearings may be taken out and thus the moving parts of the adjusted conduit adjacent to the bottom of the tank to a point Where the spinner turns freely witha minimum of end play, and then the nut '36'may be locked by means of the set screw 37 to retain such adjustment.

It will be noted that the bosses'on the spinner body 12 have holes formed therein communicating with the interior of the spinner body, and angularly disposed 'relative to one another so that collectively they are directed upwardly and they clean as Wide a swath (of area) 'as possible. In Figure '1, I have shown, by way of" ex 2 pie, one ideal arrangement and angular displacementof such holes to form nozzles or jets for the purposes of my invention. g A 1 a The boss 13 has a hole .41.extending intothe spinner body 12 at an angle of about 15 with tli evertical axis. The boss 14 has a hole 42 extending into the spinner body at an angle of about 20 with the vertical axis. The boss 15 has a hole 43 therein extending into the spinner body at an angle of about 30 relative to the vertical axis thereof, while a hole 44 in the boss 16 is disposed at an angle of about 40.

A hole 45 formed in the boss 17 is disposed at an angle of about 50 relative to the axis of the spinner body, and a hole 46 in the boss 18 is disposed at an angle of about 60 with said axis.

The boss 19 has a hole 47 therein communicating with the interior of the spinner body at about 70 with respect to the axis of said body.

The bosses 20, 21 and 22 have holes 48, 49 and 50 respectively therein which are disposed at angles of about 80, 83 and 85 respectively relative to the axis of the spinner body, and they all communicate with the interior of said body.

From the above it will be understood that as the spinner body is supplied with fluid (for example a cleaning fluid) under pressure, the spinner will rotate, due to the angular arrangement of the discharge streams from said holes, and said streams will impinge upon a substantially uniform area of the surface to be cleaned.

The spinner has an attaching cap 51 secured thereto in fluid tight relation. The cap has internal threads 52 therein for engagement with corresponding threads on a nipple-like protrusion 53 on a tank 54 to be cleaned. As the cap 51 is screwed on, a gasket 54 contacts the end of said protrusion and eifects a fluid tight joint therewith. Bosses 55 on the cap 51 are provided for use with a spanner wrench to facilitate the mounting of the spinner in the tank in fluid tight relation.

In Figure 1, the cap member 51 has a boss 52 formed thereon which is threaded to accommodate a set screw 53. The height of the spinner above the bottom of the tank may be adjusted by loosening the set screw 53, and the spinner conduit is freed and it may be moved up or down until the spinner body is the desired distance away from the inner upper surface of the tank, and once this is adjusted, the set screw 53 may be tightened to retain the adjustment.

The tank 54, Figure 3, has a pipe connection 58 in the bottom thereof which is connected to a suction pump which draws the fluid medium from the tank and delivers it to a straining or filtering system which redelivers it to the spinner for re-use.

In Figure 4, I show a modified form of the lower or thrust bearing wherein the spinner body 12a has a bottom portion 8a which has a counterbore 40a therein to accommodate a boss portion 59 of a thrust bearing support 60. The boss 59 forms a working fit in said counterbore, and the shoulder 61 bears against a corresponding shoulder 62 on the spinner body. The bearing support 60 has a central hole therein carrying a bushing 63 which is journaled on the shaft 25.

The support 60 has, preferably formed integral therewith, a tubular skirt portion 64 having an interior wall 65. Positioned on the shaft 25a within said portion 64 is a thrust bearing 66 which is comprised, for example, of race members 67 and 68 with balls 69 running in said races and properly spaced by a separator element 70. Extending through the wall 64 is a pressure lubrication fitting 71 via which said bearing is lubricated.

Below the race member 67 and contacting the lower surface thereof is a washer 35a, which may be formed of metal, and abutting the lower face of the washer 35a is an adjusting nut 36a, by means of which the end play of the spinner bearing elements just described may be minimized for smooth operation. After adjustment, the nut may be locked by means of a set screw 37a.

Although I have herein described by way of example a preferred form of the invention and a modification, it

be understood that I am not limited to the exact details shown and described herein, as many changes may be made in the arangements shown and described, within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a spinner of the character described, a conduit carrying on its upper end means for attachment to a vessel to be cleaned, an annular shoulder formed on the lower end of said conduit, means within the lower end of said conduit to support a shaft, a spinner head forming a working fit on the lower end of said conduit and abutting said shoulder, spaced bearing means carried by said head and adapted to support the latter for rotation on said shaft, a series of nozzle means carried on said head in spaced apart relation to each other and each adapted to define a jet angularly disposed relative to the jets of its neighbors, said jets being angularly disposed relative to the radii of the spinner, terminating at said nozzles, whereby propulsion of said spinner is achieved, a thrust bearing carried on said shaft, and lockable adjusting means below said thrust bearing for adjusting said head relative to said annular shoulder on said conduit.

2. A spinner according to claim 1 having a series of nozzle means carried on said head as aforesaid and a thrust bearing carried on said shaft, and lockable adjusting means below said thrust bearing for adjusting said head relative to said annular shoulder on said conduit.

3. A spinner head in the form of a hollow upright cup having an inside bearing near the top and having an inverted cup-shaped extension at the bottom thereof, a supporting shaft extending through said bearing and through a clearance hole in the bottom of said cup and a bearing hole in said cup-shaped extension, a thrust bearing on said shaft and within said inverted cup-shaped extension; and jet means carried on the outer wall of said upright cup, said jet means comprising a plurality of nozzle means angularly disposed relative to each other for both propelling said head and for cleaning purposes, means for adjusting and locking the height of said spinner head above the bottom of said tank to cause jets of cleaning fluid to impinge upon a desired area on the inner upper surface of said tank.

4. The invention according to claim 3 wherein means is provided to adjust and lock the height of said spinner head above the bottom of said tank to cause the jets of cleaning fluid to impinge upon a desired area on the inner upper surface of said tank.

5. A spinner for cleaning tanks having a tank opening comprising a conduit passing through said tank opening and into said tank, means in the lower end of said conduit supporting a downwardly extending shaft, a thrust bearing on the lower end of said shaft, a cylindrical cup having an inner diameter approximately equal to that of said conduit and having a substantially flat bottom, said bottom having a central opening, said cup surrounding said shaft, said cup having a series of angularly directed nozzles around the periphery thereof communicating with the interior, the upper edge of said cup embracing the lower edge of said conduit, said conduit being slidably mounted in said attachment means, and means for looking said conduit in said attachment means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,165,202 Perry Dec. 21, 1915 1,857,766 Peterson May 10, 1932 1,965,870 Walker July 10, 1934 2,805,903 Warren Sept. 10, 1957 2,858,836 Geh Nov. 4, 1958 l n-J 

